High strength undiffused brushless machine and method

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus in which a rotor ( 11 ) and a stator ( 17 ) define a radial air gap ( 20 ) for receiving AC flux and at least one DC excitation coil ( 23, 24 ) positioned near the stator end turn to produce DC flux in axial air gaps ( 21, 22 ) additive to the AC flux. Side magnets ( 16 ) and flux-guiding magnets ( 14 ) are provided as boundaries separating the side poles ( 12   a,    12   b ) of opposite polarity from other portions of the rotor ( 11 ) and from each other to define PM poles ( 12   a,    12   b ) for conveying the DC flux to or from the primary air gap ( 20 ) and for inhibiting flux from leaking from said pole portions prior to reaching the primary air gap ( 20 ). Side magnets ( 16 ), side poles ( 12   a  and  12   b ), flux-guiding magnets ( 14 ), ferromagnetic end plates ( 11   c ), non-magnetic end plates ( 12   c ), and ring bands ( 37 ) are optionally provided for performance improvement.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to Hsu's previous U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,417 issued Oct. 30, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,634 issued Jun. 3, 2003; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,297 issued Mar. 2, 2004, all herein incorporated by reference. This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/019,075 filed Dec. 21, 2004 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/848,450 filed May 18, 2004. This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/675,419, filed Apr. 27, 2005 and is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 awarded to UT-Battelle, LLC, by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in this invention.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field of the invention is brushless machines, including both AC and DC machines, including both motors and generators, and including permanent magnet (PM) machines and PM-reluctance machines. This invention specifically teaches flux guide technology for a High Strength Undiffused Brushless (HSUB) motor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

There are three major types of brushless electric machines available for the electric vehicle (HV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) drive systems. These are the induction machine, the PM machine, and the switched-reluctance machine.

Permanent magnet (PM) machines with and without reluctance paths have been recognized for having a high power density characteristic. A PM rotor does not generate copper losses. One drawback of the PM motor for the above-mentioned application is that the air gap flux produced by the PM rotor is limited, and therefore, a sophisticated approach is required for high speed, field weakening operation. Another constraint is that inductance is low, which means that current ripple must be controlled.

It is understood by those skilled in the art that a PM electric machine has the property of high efficiency and high power density, however, the air gap flux density of a PM machine is limited by the PM material, which is normally about 0.8 Teslas and below. A PM machine cannot operate at an air gap flux density as high as that of a switched reluctance machine. When the PM motor needs a weaker field with a reasonably good current waveform for high-speed operation, a sophisticated power electronics inverter is required.

When considering a radial gap configuration for undiffused, high strength operation, several problems have to be overcome. It is desirable to provide a compact design with a shape similar to a conventional radial gap machine and to include laminated rotor-core structure.

It would also be beneficial to further enhance the control of the field above that which is available with known PM rotor constructions. This would increase the motor torque. It is also an objective to accomplish this while retaining the compactness of the machine.

The enhanced field weakening can reduce the field strength at high speed to lower the back emf produced in the winding. Therefore, for a specified DC link voltage, the speed range of the machine can be increased over what it otherwise would be. This will meet the compactness objective and allow simplification of the drive system requirements.

The permanent magnet (PM) motor is known to have higher power density among motors. However, the air-gap flux density of a PM motor is fixed due to the “permanent” nature of the magnet. The HSUB motor with the field enhancement and weakening capabilities can overcome the drawbacks of the PM motors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The electric machine may have at least one improved feature selected from the group consisting of at least one device selected from the group consisting of side magnets, side poles, flux-guiding magnets, ferromagnetic end plates, and ring bands.

The electric machine may have at least one improved feature selected from the group consisting of flux-guiding magnets, side magnets, side poles, side ring, retaining rings, axial stationary flux path, and stationary excitation coils. The invention may be incorporated in a method and apparatus in which a rotor and a stator define a radial air gap for receiving AC flux.

The invention provides increased power and torque without increasing the size of the machine.

The invention is applicable to both AC and DC machines, and to both motors and generators.

The invention is applicable to both PM machines with and without reluctance paths, respectively. The reluctance paths are known for produce reluctance torque component.

The invention is applicable to both PM machines with and without stationary excitation field coils and stator axial flux paths.

The invention provides a compact electric machine structure for application to electric or hybrid vehicles.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, besides those discussed above, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the preferred embodiments which follows. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate examples of the invention. Such examples however are not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore reference is made to the claims which follow the description for determining the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section view of a HSUB machine with brushless excitation;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are end views of the rotor incorporated in the assembly in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 2 a and 3 a are close-ups of the rotor face at the axial gaps;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section view of a HSUB machine without brushless excitation;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are end views of the rotor incorporated in the assembly in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 5 a and 6 a are close-ups of the rotor face at the axial gaps;

FIG. 7 shows the flux-guide magnets on the rotor. As an option, the magnet strength on the left hand side can be chosen to be different from the right hand side.

FIG. 8 is an end view of the rotor seen in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 a is an end view of a pole having multiple sets of flux-guide magnets for improving reluctance-torque production.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the rotor with and without both reluctance poles and additional side magnets, respectively;

FIGS. 11, 12, and 13 are another view of the improved features of the invention with the excitation coil flux shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The principle of a high strength, undiffused brushless machine has been previously disclosed in the Hsu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,634, issued Jun. 3, 2003, Hsu, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/688,586 filed Sep. 23, 2003, and Hsu U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/848,450 filed May 18, 2004, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

For a conventional PM machine the air-gap flux density is about 0.6 to 0.8 Teslas and cannot be weakened without the aid of some sophisticated power electronics. Both the stationary excitation coil and the PM material in the rotor maximize rotor flux in the PM machine of the present invention. It can produce two to three times the air gap flux density of a conventional PM machine. Because the PM torque produced by an electric machine is directly proportional to the air gap PM flux density, a higher torque, more powerful machine is provided with only small additions to size and weight.

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section view of a radial gap, high strength undiffused machine 10 with eight side poles 12 a, 12 b in a rotor assembly 11. FIGS. 2 and 3 each show the eight side poles 12 a and 12 b attached to the sides of the rotor core to an area bounded by eight sets of flux-guiding magnets 14 that consists of three pieces of magnets for guiding flux towards the radial air gap 20 for the sample eight-pole machine. The eight side magnets 16 helps to prevent leakage flux at the rotor sides. Optionally, reluctance side poles 15 are provided by the portions of the rotor positioned in between the side magnet 16 and side pole 12 a and 12 b and between the flux-guiding magnets 14 without contacting the flux-guiding magnets 14. The reluctance side poles 15 allow the flux produced by a stator 17 to go through these reluctance side poles 15 easier than the path going through the side poles 12 a and 12 b.

The rotor assembly 11 is preferably made as described in the disclosures cited above, namely, the rotor has a hub 11 a and a plurality of laminations 11 b of ferromagnetic material are mounted and stacked on the hub 11 a and clamped by non-magnetic end plates 12 c. The rotor laminations 11 b and ferromagnetic end plates 11 c have keyed projections 11 d for insertion in keyways in the rotor hub 11 a. The ferromagnetic end plates 11 c can be made of solid mild steel or stacked laminations.

The side poles 12 a, 12 b are made of ferromagnetic material. The flux-guiding magnets 14 can be pre-formed pieces or the injected type. Between pieces of flux-guiding magnets 14, an epoxy material can be used to fill gaps. Side magnets 16 are separate pieces attached to the ends of the rotor assembly 11. Bolts (not shown) are used to hold the side poles 12 a, 12 b and ferromagnetic end plates 11 c in position. Ring band 37 can hold the side poles 12 a, 12 b, side magnets 16, and ferromagnetic end plate 11 c in place to withstand the centrifugal force.

The machine 10 optionally has brushless excitation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Brushless excitation of FIG. 1 is provided by stationary coils 23 and 24 and stationary flux collectors 25 and 26. No brushless excitation is used in FIG. 4 wherein the machine 10 is absent stationary coils and stationary flux collectors.

The rotor assembly 11 rotates with a main drive shaft 19 around an axis of rotation 19 a. The stator 17 is disposed around the rotor 11 and has a laminated core 17 a and windings 17 b as seen in a conventional AC machine. The rotor assembly 11 is separated from the stator 17 by a radial air gap 20, which is also referred to herein as the primary air gap. AC flux is produced in this air gap 20 by the stator field. With brushless excitation, the rotor assembly 11 is separated from the stationary flux collectors 25 and 26 by axial air gaps 21 and 22, respectively. These air gaps 21, 22 are oriented perpendicular to the axis 19 a of the rotor 11. DC flux will be produced in these air gaps 21, 22 by excitation coils 23 and 24. Stationary flux collectors 25 and 26 are disposed at the axial air gaps 21, 22. The laminated option of stationary flux collector can further smooth the DC flux component and reduce the possible occurrence of eddy currents.

The drive shaft 19 is supported by bearings 31 and 32. A short internal shaft 30 is also coupled to the rotor 11. A shaft encoder 33 and a pump 34 for lubricant for the motor 10 are situated inside a passageway 35 through the hollow center of the excitation coil 24. A housing cover 36 closes the passageway 33.

Referring to FIG. 2, the DC flux produced by the excitation coils 23, 24 is conducted into the rotor from one set of the ferromagnetic side poles 12 a that attached to the N polarity of the rotor, and then turns to flow radially outward across the main air gap 20 into the stator core 17 a, then loops and returns radially inward and is conducted axially outward through adjacent side poles 12 b that attached to the S polarity at the other end of the rotor 11 (FIG. 3). The DC flux produced by the excitation coils does not pass through the reluctance side poles 15. The DC flux return path 38 (labeled in FIG. 11) goes through the frame 39 that is made of magnetically conducting material.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the flux-guiding magnets 14 together with the excitation current going through the excitation coils 23 and 24 produce the north (N) and south (S) poles on the exterior of rotor 11 that faces the stator 17 and the radial air gap 20. This rotor flux in the radial air gap 20 can be either enhanced or weakened according to the polarity of the DC excitation in the excitation assemblies 23, 24 that face the ends the rotor 11. Subsequently, the radial air gap 20 receives the rotor flux from the rotor 11, which interacts with the primary flux induced by the stator windings 17 b to produce a torque.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the flux-guiding magnets 14 inside the rotor lamination 11 b. As an option, a strong flux guiding magnet set 14 a and a weak magnet 14 b can be chosen.

FIG. 8 a shows a rotor assembly 11′ illustrating that the flux-guiding magnets 14 can be modified to consist of multiple sets of magnets for each pole disposed in multiple grooves to increase the reluctance torque value.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the rotor with and without reluctance side poles 15 installed, respectively.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 illustrate an embodiment of the improvements of the current invention.

The functions of each optional improvement are described as follows. The flux-guiding magnets 14 and side magnets 16 are used to conduct the axial fluxes and to block the unwanted axial leakage flux during field enhancement. The flux-guiding magnets 14 are typically thin with respect to the width of the grooves that they are situated in. A thinner magnet can reduce the cost of permanent magnets. During field enhancement the higher air-gap flux density is produced by the brushless field excitation. Therefore, a weaker and thinner PM can do the job as part of the flux-guiding barriers to discourage the flux going across the grooves. The ferromagnetic end plate 11 c smoothes the axial flux and produces a return path for the side magnets 16. The ring band 37 prevents the side poles, side magnets and end pieces from flying apart from the centrifugal force.

The HSUB technology is for electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle applications. However, the HSUB technology certainly can be used for other applications where the use of electricity to produce torque and motion is involved.

The invention is applicable to both AC synchronous and DC brushless machines and to both motors and generators.

This has been a description of the preferred embodiments of the invention. The present invention is intended to encompass additional embodiments including modifications to the details described above which would nevertheless come within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A brushless electric machine comprising: a cylindrical stator; a rotor having an axis of rotation, the rotor being spaced from the stator to define an annular primary air gap that receives an AC flux from the stator, the rotor having a plurality of longitudinal pole portions disposed parallel to the axis of rotation and alternating in polarity around a circumference of the rotor; wherein each longitudinal pole portion comprises portions of permanent magnet (PM) material positioned to form boundaries separating the longitudinal pole portions of alternating polarity from an interior of the rotor and from each other to define PM poles; and reluctance side poles comprising ferromagnetic material formed separate from the rotor and positioned between the PM poles to produce reluctance torque in the rotor in response to AC flux in the primary air gap.
 2. The brushless machine of claim 1 further comprising a magnetic frame for housing the stator and at least one stationary excitation coil for conducting a DC current and at least one stationary flux collector disposed adjacent to and formed separate from the magnetic frame and positioned across an axial air gap from the rotor and configured to induce a DC flux in the rotor core guided by at least one flux-guiding magnet which increases a resulting flux in the primary air gap when said direct current is of a first polarity and which reduces the resulting flux in the primary air gap when said direct current is of a second polarity opposite said first polarity.
 3. The brushless machine of claim 2, wherein the machine further comprises a magnetic frame that provides a portion of the return path for the DC flux of the excitation coil to the rotor.
 4. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein said reluctance side poles extend radially with respect to a geometrical center of the rotor to an outer circumference of the rotor.
 5. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein at least one longitudinal pole piece comprises at least three flux guiding magnets.
 6. The brushless machine of claim 5 wherein the rotor comprises ferromagnetic laminations.
 7. The brushless machine of claim 1 wherein at least one longitudinal pole piece comprises at least six flux-guiding magnets and wherein the rotor comprises a multiplicity of grooves for situating the at least six flux-guiding magnets.
 8. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a brushless AC synchronous machine.
 9. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a brushless DC machine.
 10. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a motor.
 11. The brushless machine of claim 1, wherein the machine is a generator.
 12. The brushless machine of claim 1 wherein at least one of the longitudinal pole portions has a first end and an opposing second end and a side magnet is disposed adjacent the first end and a side pole is disposed adjacent the second end.
 13. The brushless machine of claim 1 wherein at least one of the longitudinal pole portions comprises a strong magnet disposed adjacent a weak magnet.
 14. A method of controlling flux in a brushless electrical machine, the method comprising: inducing an AC flux in a rotor from a stator across a radial air gap by conducting a current in a primary excitation winding on the stator; positioning at least one excitation coil adjacent the end turns of the stator; conducting a direct current through the excitation coil so as to produce a DC flux in the rotor across at least one axial air gap and to produce a resultant flux in the radial air gap resulting from the AC flux and the DC flux; providing portions of PM material as flux-guiding boundaries separating the rotor pole portions of opposite polarity from an interior of the rotor and from each other to define PM poles for conveying the DC flux to or from the primary air gap and for inhibiting flux from leaking from said pole portions prior to reaching the primary air gap; and and spacing the portions of PM material so as to include reluctance poles of ferromagnetic material separate from the rotor and disposed between the PM poles to interact with the AC flux in the primary air gap.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said DC flux is controlled by conducting a direct current through the excitation coil so as to induce a DC flux across axial air gaps in addition to the AC flux across a radial air gap.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the machine is operated as a brushless AC synchronous machine.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the machine is operated as a brushless DC machine.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the machine is operated as a motor. 